How many times have I mentioned that I plan to buy a house? Well, I think I have been telling that for the nth times already. Since I started a family, I have been dreaming and planning of owning our so-called home sweet home. No matter how small it is, as long as we are protected, we can somehow adjust.

Ironically I have been attending events and talks about real estate conducted by Lamudi.com and Envision Expo. And I even visited some of the model units of rising real estate developers like Lancaster in Cavite. In the end, I still don't have my own house.

Now, the kids are growing fast, and it seems that the cute house that we are living in right now is not enough to accommodate us. We can't even have more than two visitors because it would be a bit crowded, especially now that we are experiencing the pandemic, we need to have social distancing. How can we implement this so-called social distancing if we can't move around freely in the house? It is like a small puzzle that every time you walk, you'll bump with each other.

If only I could bring back the time when we found a good price deal of lot somewhere in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. During that time, the place was all bare, and it's only starting its development stage. Now, look at the changes in this City of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, there are constructions from left and right. It was affordable at that time, and the only problem we had was we don't know much about real estate. And perhaps we can also add that both of us are busy working, we don't have time to make an appointment in different agencies to verify the lot. I think that time there is no available mortgage calculator online that can help us estimate the expenses we may incur. Note that it was more than fifteen years ago.

Today, the areas near Metro Manila are developing and starting to be part of the Greater Manila Area. It is one move of the government to decongest the population in the capital city of the Philippines. I remember it was last year, right before the pandemic, I happened to accept freelance research work about the landscape of the construction and real estate development in the Philippines. It's not thorough research, but I was able to give the client what they wanted. It is a piece of information about the progress of constructions in the country.

Part of the research I did led me to the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) website, which shows data about the number of approved construction permits for infrastructures of the government. Some of the constructions are railways, bridges, schools, water sources, and highways, which happens to be the requirement of developing real estate. These constructions are from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. So, basically, the population is growing, and the Pinoy family like ours requires new houses.

In all of the property developers I know, probably for me, the best land developer is Ayala. Why? Well, I somehow have witnessed how they progress in developing their lands. They usually start their developing stage by conducting outdoor events on the estate. The main reason is to attract investors and potential clients. And I happen to be in these events like the Bike Night Carnival in Vermosa located in Cavite and the Sandbox Outdoor activities in Alviera located in Porac, Pampanga.

For now, it is probably easier to find your dream house, but the only problem would be how to finance it since most of the industries today are down and striving. Like me, I want a home for my family, but I couldn't afford it right now. Working freelance is not stable to finance that dream house.

What I can do right now is make a plan and probably check some mortgage calculators online to estimate the expenses. As my usual practice from the previous works, I always get three different sources to verify and compare the results. I got these three online calculators, one local (I think) - Security Bank Calculator, one is known locally and abroad - Bank of the Philippine Islands Calculator, and the last one is from abroad - Mortgage Calculator from the UK. You can also do this kind of process whether you're checking up the mortgage or even the prices of the pens you buy for your kids.

So, overall I will still have to plan everything first. How about you? Will you buy a new house at this time of pandemic?

Lancaster New City, one of the rising property developments in Cavite, has made another interesting addition to their list of house models. Just recently, Kwento Ni Toto was able to have a peek of the newest houses that Lancaster New City offers. Not just a peek but we’ve actually visited the ins and outs, the bare and the dressed, and the corner and not of these brand new house models.

Lancaster New City is one of the newest developments in Cavite. The township development is more than 1,000 hectares that covers the areas of Imus, Kawit, and Gen. Trias in Cavite. It is a township development close to Metro Manila, giving the families an option to still live in a community that offers more space and more time for the family. It is a place to live, learn, work, play and worship. A place that provides what the family needs most.

Living in a place where you can call home is what Kwento Ni Toto is longing for, an owned space for the family to enjoy and grow old. At present, many Filipinos are struggling to find their dream houses and most of them are considering different factors such as location, affordability and environment which determine whether a house can be turned into a home. Fortunately for prospective homeowners scouting a great home to live with, property developer PRO-FRIENDS or Property Company of Friends Inc. strategically consider these elements in creating residential communities for Filipino families.